The Ace of Spades

Chapter 23

The remaining 12 days pass in a blur. The cave, Viv's house, the walk to the cave, tiny snippets of time inside or outside Victor's house, sticky-sweaty days, one day submerged in beach water that is simply not as bad as it once was.

When Mea wakes up the morning that Viv tells the kids that Mimi will arrive, the air feels thick. As if a bad omen, the day is miserable with gunmetal grey clouds and drizzly rain. The ceiling fan in the living room looks like it struggles to cut through the dense air.

Viv looks at the three kids with sympathy, forehead pinched with concern. Even Toto looks as if he's dreading Mimi's arrival.

Mea had spoken to Victor the previous night. They had extended their time at the cave until the road was pitch black and Mea's eyes began creating evil, non-existent shapes that lingered along the treeline. They'd talked a lot; Mea had talked a lot.

Victor had given Mea his number on a slip of white office paper, with an email address and a cell phone number despite knowing Mea had access to neither of the latter. ("Get with it, it's the 21st century, Ace!")

They'd hugged goodbye, with Mea promising she'd call. Mea kept telling her brain and her silly teenage hormones that friends hug all the time. Friends. Mea and Victor are friends. This is normal.

So that morning, when Mimi is set to pick the kids up around noon, Mea reminds herself that's the last time she'll see Victor. She had promised she'd call and she will. She'll get home, settle in for a couple of days, get back into the swing of things, what with school starting up again, then she'll call. They'll chat, like friends do, but both will realize that some things only last throughout the summer. Maybe they'll make plans to chat again and maybe they will, but by the time September has run its course they'll have parted like the Red Sea. C'est la vie.

Mea and Jojo sit in the living room, both staring into space. It crosses her mind that Elliot the Idiot hasn't been mentioned for a few weeks at this point. Quickly, Mea hopes that her thinking about him doesn't jinx it. She can't bear to hear about him. What a fucking idiot, honestly.

"Does Mimi know?" Mea asks Jojo.

Jojo blinks for a moment then shakes her head.

"It'll be okay," Mea smiles.

Jojo raises her eyebrows, skeptical. Does Mea even believe what she's saying?

The entire summer feels magical. So many things happened but they were all good. If they weren't good, on the off chance, Viv made it feel like they could be good. Mea smiles at Jojo. It's the first summer in over a decade that the two sisters have been friends, they've been sisters.

When Toto walks into the living room, squeezing his horse plushie on his right arm and lugging his suitcase in his left, Mea feels complete. This is her family, this is where everyone wants to be.

**

Mimi arrives half an hour late.

"Sorry, kids! I was getting coffee. Crazy long line up!" she lies.

Mea knows it's a lie because no coffee drive thru line up takes thirty minutes to tackle. Her and Jojo make eye contact and both roll their eyes.

"So!" Mimi looks excited to see her kids, despite not calling once. "What happened this summer? I want to hear everything!"

Mimi leans into Viv and Mea blinks long and slow.

Jojo announces she's pregnant.

Mea blinks longer and slower.

Toto is unphased.

Viv looks supportively at Jojo.

Mimi holds her hand over her heart.