Kiss Me Goodbye

You're a Firework (Day 10)

 Tuesday, July 4

"Wait, so you're not eating dinner with us?" Uncle Jeff asks. He backs into the kitchen holding a pair of tongs, a patriotic apron wrapped around his waist.

"No," I sigh, "I promised Luke I'd meet his stepdad. I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry about he," he says, waving his hand airily. "We've got company over for dinner anyway and Renee will probably be at a friend's house, so I guess it's good that you'll be somewhere else. You won't be that bored." He steps back out into the backyard. "Though I better warn you, you'll be missing out on my world famous barbecue ribs."

I cover my mouth in mock horror. "Oh no!"

He rolls his eyes and shuts the door.

*

Renee stares into the mirror, pinning up a curly blonde lock. She reaches for a Bobby pin just as I reach for the same one.

Instantly, my hand shoots back. "You can have it," I offer.

"No, you," she says.

An awkward silence fills the air, broken only by the spritzing of Renee's hairspray.

I survey myself in the mirror. Everything about myself screams "average". Average brown hair, boring brown eyes, delicate lips with teeth straightened by years of braces, even my hair, which took hours to straighten, looks plain and boring.

I scrunch it up experimentally, trying to give it volume, but it doesn't work. Maybe I should've just left it curly.

"Are you nervous?" Renee asks, breaking the silence. She looks into the mirror and coats her lips with a bit of wine-colored lipstick.

I swallow my pride and nod.

"Don't be," she says, catching my eye in the mirror. "His mom is the absolute sweetest thing in the world."

"Yeah, I know," I say. "It's not his mom I'm worried about though, it's his stepdad."

Renee laughs, throwing her head back. "Who? Ronald? He's such a darling! Don't worry, when I met him, the first thing he did was hug me."

"But everyone loves you!" I whine. I swallow the uncomfortable lump in my throat. I'm not jealous that Renee is on a first-name basis with Luke's stepdad, I tell myself. Of course not! That's absurd.

"You'll be fine," Renee smiles. She swipes on some nail polish and leaves the room, blowing on her nails.  "Good luck, hun," she calls breezily as she glides out of the bathroom.

The smell of ammonia still lingers in the air long after she's gone. I'm not sure if it's the odor or the nerves, but I stand poised over the sink, willing myself not to empty my stomach. When I'm finally ready, I take a deep breath and walk downstairs, flipping my phone open.

"Luke?" I say when he picks up. "Can you give me a ride now? I'm ready."

I collapse onto the sofa as butterflies threaten to fill up my stomach.

*

It's quiet as Luke pull into a long, winding driveway. He stops at the gate and punches in a few numbers. "Mom? We're home," he yells into the loudspeaker.

"Kay, honey, we'll be right out!" he mom responds. "Ron, darling, Luke and his friend are here!"

I hear a man's deep voice respond, and my stomach does flips.

When I step out of the car, Mrs. Cooper rushes towards me. "Oh Alli, dear," she says, hugging me to her chest. "I haven't seen you in so long! How are you? How's Michigan?"