Julie Gordon lives in New York with her mother and father. On a daily basis, she works at a bakery together with her best friend Dylan.
One day, she comes home from work to see her mother crying her eyes out. It turns out Julie's father has cheated...
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The next day when Nicole was finished cooking lunch for us again, we all sat down at the kitchen table to start eating. I was sitting beside mom while Timmy and Nicole were sitting opposite us. She had made spaghetti bolognese, which was a favorite of mine, and since this was Nicole cooking, it was even better than the one I was used to eating.
After we had eaten yesterday, we had gone our separate ways. Timmy had spent time with his mother while I had gone up to my room to read. I had no idea what mom had done, but I assumed she had watched TV or listened to another audiobook. Either way, we hadn't spent more time all four us together after that meeting in the kitchen until today.
"Mom, this is delicious," Timmy moaned as he took another bite of his food.
Nicole shot him a wide smile. "I'm glad you like it, son. I've missed you being here eating my food."
"Yeah, I've missed it too," he confessed.
I couldn't disagree with him. It was very delicious, and by the looks of it, mom seemed to think the same thing. I think that was also the reason we didn't say much during the meal; because we enjoyed the food so much.
It wasn't until we had emptied our plates that Nicole broke the silence. "I was thinking all four of us could do something tonight to get to know each other a little? What do you say about that?"
Her gaze flickered between all of us before landing on Timothée. He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't mind. I don't have anything planned anyway."
"Me neither," I said, sending Nicole a smile.
"Sounds like a great idea. What do you have in mind?" Mom wondered.
"Well, since we are quite limited because of Timmy here, I was thinking we could go play padel. I know a place where there usually aren't too many people," she suggested, waiting for our reactions.
I didn't even remember the last time I played padel. Not because I didn't like it but because it just never occurred. Dylan and I usually went out whenever we met, either for lunch or out clubbing. Mom and dad had never been too much into sports, and they had always wanted to save as much money as possible, so it had never been brought up.
Therefore, it must be at least ten years ago I played it the last time. I was in middle school, and our teachers thought it was a great thing for us to do as a change from being in the gym during P.E. Thinking of middle school, I wondered if Timmy remembered that we went to the same elementary school. Probably not. I was two years younger than him after all, and I had never been one to stand out. Plus, it was ages ago.
"Good idea," mom praised, clapping her hands together.
I didn't say anything because I wanted to see Timmy's reaction first. He was scratching the back of his neck while looking away from us. Nicole seemed to notice this and reached out a hand to caress his shoulder.
