California

Chapter Five

They went for a chicken casserole. Mom and dad had their routine when it came to bringing food for dinner at some friend's house - first they went through a huge online list of practical, easy-to-cook dishes that required moderate effort. Then, at the realization that none of them actually wanted to reinvent themselves as chefs, they dug out Nana's old chicken casserole recipe and acted like it was the best option by far. Truth be told, I wouldn't go through the trouble of cooking something too sophisticated either. The Jacobs are serving, anyway, so why make such a fuss? When I told her that, mom said that I wouldn't make for a good hostess someday, and I thought she was right.

After breakfast I spent the day unboxing my stuff and putting everything away. I found a nice little corner in the cabinets where I stored all of the photo albums from the memories box, then I hung some pictures and put up portraits. When all the cardboard boxes were empty and folded up I looked around, satisfied. As soon as I got dressed, I went downstairs and that's when I came across the whole casserole dilemma. 

Last night had been amazing - we had all slept like rocks, feeling comfortable amidst that cool, summer-y night breeze. I even left my window open just a bit so that I wouldn't feel too hot since we hadn't gotten the ACs installed yet. I woke up with the sun on my face, which is I guess was refreshing for a girl who seldom got any summer weather at all. 

"All done, Liv?" Asked mom, packing up the casserole and putting it in the fridge.

"Yeah. What about you guys?"

"We still have some boxes to deal with and some furniture is arriving tomorrow, so not yet."

I went over to the couch and spread the curtains, letting the sun in. For someone who loved the rain, sunlight was kinda growing on me. I thought to myself that that would soon be my favorite place in the house. I sat down and spread my legs across the cushions, opening this new John Green novel that had just come out. 

"When are we leaving for the Jacobs'?" I asked, finding the page I had marked down.

"In a few hours." Replied mom. "We have to wait until dad gets home from the store. It turns out new homes don't come with food in the pantry."

I smiled, diving into the novel as I would in a pool.

℘

It was still clear outside when mom told me to go get ready. In summer the days get longer and the nights get shorter, and I loved that. I took a quick shower and took my time drying my blond hair, which was longer than how I usually liked it. Mom'd had long hair too when she was my age, but now she'd gone for a medium-length bob. Even though she seemed to like it, I thought she missed it longer sometimes. I never cut mine too much because it made her happy, I guess, but someday I might.

As soon as I heard dad yelling out my name I put on a blueish skirt and a white top since it was way too hot for anything else and ran down the stairs only to find him waiting impatiently beside the door.

"You and your mom are two peas in a pod, you know that?" He laughed. It took something really upsetting to get my dad on a bad mood.

"Sorry, I lost track of time."

"It's okay, honey," said mom, going down the stairs while hooking up her earrings. "I think it's dad who's always too early."

"I'll grab the casserole!" I said, dashing over to the kitchen. I put it in a bag and brought it to the car.

It took us literally two minutes to get there. I guess it was nice to have neighbors that you're friends with so close to home. Soon we'd get to know the rest of the neighborhood, but I already thought the Jacobs were good people. However, as much as I tried, I couldn't figure out how I knew their daughter, Amanda.