Page 11 of Being Julia

Brody dropped me off five minutes before my curfew. He said that my dad would be pleased about that. I stepped off the elevator and felt like I was on Cloud Nine. I heard the TV in the living room, so I walked in there to see my mom and dad lying together on the couch and my mom sleeping.

“Hi, Dad,” I whispered.

“How was your date?” he whispered back.

“It was nice. Thank you.”

“Why don’t you go to bed, and we can talk about it in the morning?” he said.

“Goodnight.” I smiled as I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

I walked up to my room and immediately sent a text message to London. I told her about my night, and how, come tomorrow, I’d no longer be a virgin. She was excited but said she had to go. She was with Rob, the older guy.

As I changed into my pajamas, I stared at myself in the mirror, thinking about how Brody said I was the most beautiful girl in the world. He was so sweet and kind that I didn’t believe any rumors about him. They didn’t matter anyway. Iwas his girl and his only. At least after tomorrow, I would be.

Icouldn’t sleep the whole night, thanks to Brody Sullivan. He was all I saw and felt when I closed my eyes. I swore I could still feel his lips against mine. I got up and headed down the hallway. I heard my mom and dad talking in their bedroom, so I knocked on the door.

“Mom, Dad, can I come in?”

“Sure, sweetheart,” my mom said as she opened the door. With a big smile, she took my hand, led me to the bed, and made me sit down.

“How was your date? I want to hear all about it.”

“It was amazing, Mom. He took me to Per Se, and we ate the most amazing food and had the most amazing conversation.” I smiled.

“The boy sure doesn’t spare any expense, does he?” my dad said as he came from the bathroom.

“Did you with Mom?” I asked him.

“That’s different, Julia. We weren’t sixteen and eighteen years old. We were adults.”

“Really? So, you sending over a bunch of designer dresses, shoes, and jewelry for her to pick from for your charity event when you only had known her, what? Two days? That was acceptable?”

He looked at me, cocked his head, and then looked at my mom. He shook his head and didn’t say a word as he grabbed his wallet off the dresser and put it in his pocket. He started to walk out of the bedroom but stopped and turned around.

“For the record, I was already in love with her.” He winked at my mom.

“You know, Mom, you never told me how you and Daddy met.”

She took my hand and smiled. “We’ll talk about another time. It’s quite a story. So, what are your plans today while we’re in Chicago?”

“London is coming over, and we’re just going to look through fashion magazines and watch movies.”

I hated lying to her. It killed me. She patted my hand and smiled. I turned her wrist over and lightly ran my finger over her tattoo.

“I love this tattoo. Is there a story behind it other than how much you love Daddy?”

Her lips formed a small smile as she got up from the bed. “When you’re older, we can talk about that.” She winked.

As we walked downstairs, I hugged my dad goodbye.

“Bye, Dad. Have a safe flight.”

“Bye, baby. Make sure you don’t go anywhere and stay safe. If you need something, call your Uncle Mason or Uncle Denny,” he said as he kissed the top of my head.

“I’m sixteen, Dad. How many times do I need to remind you of that? I’m surprised you’re not having someone babysit me.”

He looked at my mom right after I said that. “Mom!” I exclaimed.

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