The Summer of a Teenager

Chapter 9: Family Meeting

Finn and I were on the phone until two in the morning. We were trying to get to know each other since we didn't really get a chance to at Olivia's house. But after we hung up, I was so wired that I didn't get to sleep until four. I was thinking about what was going to happen to us. We did bring up the kiss and Finn said we could hang out again. But we never set up a time. I finally fell asleep and woke up at eleven in the morning; Mom was in the kitchen, working. Dad was at the table, sipping his coffee. I guessed now that we knew about the divorce, they were going to try to get different houses. I shivered at the thought of full custody for Mom or for Dad. I'd rather it be equal.

I went over to the table and turned out that Mom wasn't working, she was looking at houses. Guess she was moving out, not Dad.

"Good morning, I mean good afternoon," she said.

"It's not afternoon yet, Mom," I responded.

"Do you like this house?" she asked me.

"Hey Mom. We never even got to really talk about all of this. I have questions. Like are me and Alex going to be separated? Are you and Dad going to fight a lot? Will I still go to the same school—" I tried to continue but Mom put her hand up telling me in a polite way to "shut up."

"Look, everything will be the same other than your Dad and I will live in different houses. And we'll do an every other week thing. Which means you and Alex will come to my house for a week and then to your Dad's house for a week. I promise my house will be at the most ten minutes away," Mom explained. She put a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Okay."

I sat up and grabbed an orange out of the refrigerator. If you didn't know this, I'm not a huge breakfast person. But, I'm a huge citrus fan. My room smells like citrus because I have an essential oil diffuser. My favorite scent is Grapefruit Clash.

I walked back up to my room feeling better. I actually felt like I was going to have an amazing day. Other than, my parents were getting a divorce, and the guy I sorta was "in love with" is still not my boyfriend. Then, my phone buzzed. It was Olivia calling me. She sobbed before she even said hello.

"Olivia? What's wrong?" I asked.

"W-We're moving. To Ohio," she said and then let out a huge sob.

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah. We're moving next month. My dad got a job and they're thinking about adopting a baby!" she continued. Honestly, she sounded like a huge drama queen. But I got it; she was upset and I'm her best friend so I couldn't tell her she was being a drama queen.

"Hey, hey. It's okay," I tried to calm her down. "Look, we'll still be best friends, I promise. Let's try to make the best of it, okay? Let's hang out every day until you leave! We can do sleepovers, we can make a list. Whatever you want, okay?"

"Okay," Olivia said, her voice sounding calmer. "And uh," she paused. "I broke up with Alex last night, and not because we are moving but because he was getting super clingy!" She let out more loud sobs.

Oh no, Alex was going to be such a wreck. And Olivia was going to be much more of a wreck. "Olivia, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," she sniffled. "I have to go. We're driving to Ohio tomorrow to look at houses. I have to pack."

"Okay."

"Actually. Hold on one second I have to ask my mom something," she said.

I didn't respond. I waited for about two minutes as I started my diffuser on my desk.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi," I responded as I waited to know what she was going to say.

"So. I just asked my mom—she hasn't left for work yet—if you could go with us to Ohio tomorrow!" she said, sounding excited.

"Oh, uh, wow. That's really sudden," I responded.

"Yeah. But still, if you want to go, ask!"

"Okay. Can I call you back in, like, thirty minutes?" I asked.

"Mhm."

After we both said bye, I let out a tear. My parents were getting divorced, my best friend was moving away, and my brother (even though he hadn't shown it) was miserable. What could go wrong next?

I knocked on Alex's door upstairs and had a conversation with him.

"So, what did you do after the last message you showed me?" I asked Alex.

"I told her that that's how I am and she would have to deal with it," he responded.

"Alex!" I yelled, but not too loud because he hadn't told Mom and Dad yet.

"What?"

"I told you that you were getting too attached! And that you needed to settle down a little bit! Why didn't you listen to me?!"

"I know. I was stupid and I was a complete jerk. I'll call her and tell her I'm sorry. Maybe she'll still want to be my girlfriend," Alex said as he picked up his phone.

"Uh—Alex?"

"What?"

"They're moving to Ohio."

After I finished the word Ohio, his face went red.

"Get out," he said. I didn't want to make him even more mad so I got out of his room.

As soon as I got back into my room, Mom called: "Family meeting!"

I walked into the living room and I saw Alex coming down the stairs, his face still quite red.

"I'm not even gonna ask," Mom said as she saw Alex's face. Dad walked into the room. "So, first of all, I'm sorry we didn't tell you kids sooner that your father and I are separating," Mom began. "But, look, I told Kate this morning, and this goes for you too, Alex, everything will be the same. Okay? The only thing that will be different will be that your father and I will live in different houses."

"Okay," I said slowly.

Alex took a deep breath and closed his eyes. I could see that he didn't want to show his frustration to Mom and Dad. "Whatever."

I put my tongue at the roof of my mouth to avoid smiling. Alex was kind of funny when he was mad. He acted like a child.

"Do you guys have any questions?" Dad asked.

"Absolutely," I responded.

"Same," said Alex.

"Okay, so one, when are you guys like, officially 'divorced?'" I asked.

"Well the legal documents are going through right now. They're supposed to be finished at the end of next week since we filed them a couple months ago," Mom explained.

"I was going to tell them, Jackie," Dad said.

"Pete, not now," Mom said through her teeth.

"Are we going to different schools each week?" Alex asked.

"No. You'll still go to Roamy Middle—I mean High School," Dad said.

Mom checked her phone. "Well, I don't have time for more questions right now. I'm going to see a house."

"Can I go with you?" I asked.

"Sure."

"And one more thing, Olivia asked if I could go to Ohio with them to look at houses," I said, since we were all in the living room, it was a perfect time to ask. "Can I go?"

"When?" Mom asked.

"Uhh, hehe, tomorrow. I know it's soon but Olivia and her family is considering moving and they want to go look at houses."

"They're moving?" Mom asked. Alex's face became a darker red.

"Yeah, maybe," I said, my emotions went from a little sad to kind of depressed.

"Well, I don't see why you can't go," Mom said.

"You never asked me," Dad said.

Mom rolled her eyes. Wow, it went from totally being okay with each other, to subtly fighting. Then again, they probably fought a lot when Alex and I weren't there.

"You know what, whatever," Dad said, he seemed grumpy. But it was only eleven o'clock so maybe he was still in his 'grumpy' mood. Yeah, he was definitely grumpy, right?