Page 5 of True Blue

Grandpa’s eyes crease a little further as he shakes his head slightly. “Afraid not. But they sent Ryan to capture the whole thing.” He nods over his shoulder, and I glance back, seeing my parent’s go-to stateside videographer wearing a chest mounted camera rig and watching a monitor in front of him as he films us from a few feet away.

I bark a laugh, giving the camera a wave.

“And they gave me this to pass on.” I look back at my grandfather and he hands me an envelope.

I take it from him, and he puts his hand on my shoulder. Inside, I find a letter in Mom’s curly handwriting. Scanning the words, I smile at the congratulations and well wishes as well as the comments on how fast I grew up. Near the end they apologize for not being able to make it and how much they miss me. My heart aches for a moment, but stutters at the last line.

But we will both see you soon. Love, Mom and Dad.

My mouth pops open and I look up at Grandpa who has a smirk on his face. He hands me a second envelope and I tear it open faster than the first and find plane tickets to Croatia then another to Spain. The first one leaves in two days.

“They’re flying you out to their film locations?” Autumn asks, on her tiptoes so she can try to read the tickets over my shoulder.

“Yeah!” I exclaim, tipping the tickets so that she could see them. “I fly out in a couple days. Looks like I’m traveling Europe for the summer!”

“You’re going away for the summer?” Mira asks, overhearing me telling Autumn.

I turn back toward the Adams family and nod, showing Mira the tickets. “Mom and Dad are having me meet them on location and spend the summer with them!” Mira smiles and I feel my stomach twist. “Fuck! This ruins our plans.” I read the tickets again, frowning. “I won’t get back till the week before school starts.”

Mira shakes her head and Autumn follows. “It’s fine, Bent,” Autumn says.

“Yeah, go see your parents,” Mira adds. She nudges my shoulder. “I doubt you’ll miss us much while you’re lounging on beaches in Europe.”

I grab them both around the waist and drag them into a tight hug. “I’m still going to miss you guys,” I say, pulling back. “Even from the nude beaches.” Mira slaps my shoulder and I laugh. “Don’t worry, I’ll send pics.” Autumn shoves me away.

“One more gift for you,” Grandpa calls, making me turn back toward him. He wears the indulgent look he sometimes has when he is around me and my friends. I smile at the sight of it. It usually meant he was going to sneak us cookies before dinner or let us take a ride in Dad’s mustang while he was out of town.

He hands me a third envelope, this one bulging in one spot and I open it slowly, feeling the weight of the item inside. The card I pull out sings Pomp and Circumstance as I open it and read the quick message scrawled in my grandfather’s chicken scratch.Don’t take the turns too fastis written at the end of the message and I turn the envelope over. A key fob falls into my palm. The Mercedes logo shines at the top. My jaw goes slack, and I whip my head up to meet my grandfather’s eyes.

“No way,” I whisper.

“She’s parked in the lot,” Grandpa says as his smile widens. He steps forward and grips my shoulder to turn me back to the bigger group. “In your name and everything.”

I’ve been begging my parents to let me get a car for the last two years, but they kept telling me it was unnecessary since they had several cars at the house that I could use whenever. But I wanted one that was mine. More specifically I wanted a Mercedes that was mine. Just mine.

I beam as Autumn and Mira laugh.

“Still can’t believe you didn’t notice when I stole your license,” Autumn says.

“You guys knew?” I look between them. I didn’t think they were good at keeping secrets, but now I’m not so sure.

“We helped him with the registration,” Mira says, pride playing in the tone of her voice. She’s a terrible liar so keeping this secret for however long has probably been killing her.

“Autumn Dahlia Green! We have been looking all over for you!” Autumn’s mother breaks through the people around us and pushes her way into our little circle as Autumn cringes slightly into my side. Mrs. Green wears a pinstripe pants suit and austere expression, blonde hair pulled perfectly back in a tight ballerina bun at the back of her head.

“Hello, Tina,” April says, smiling and forcing Autumn’s mom to look away from her daughter. Autumn’s father stands directly behind his wife, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Mrs. Green seems to realize the rest of us are here suddenly. “Hello, April,” she says with a strained smile and nods to Conrad, Ramsey, and Harley before turning to Mira and me. “Congratulations, Amiria and Bentley.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Green,” we both mumble.

She turns back to her daughter. “Let’s go, Autumn. Your sister is already at your grandmother’s practicing for her summer recital, and I want to make sure she’s nailing her fouetté.” Mrs. Green reaches forward and grabs Autumn’s arm. Autumn gives us all a half smile as she follows in her mother’s wake.

“Oh, Tina!” The trio stops and turns toward April. “We’re having a little graduation party at our house right after this. You’re all welcome to join!” Autumn smiles at April, but Mrs. Green frowns.

“We have a small family party to attend, but we might be able to send Autumn over after,” Mrs. Green says, looking to her husband who nods.

“Perfect! Congratulations again, sweetie.” April steps forward and hugs Autumn despite her mother’s grip on her arm. Autumn glances at us over her shoulder, and I mouthJailbreak. One hour. She smiles and releases April, letting her mother pull her away.

---