Page 116 of August
“Yeah. You two can go. I’m just going to be unpacking and stuff until my roommate gets back. Then, we’re going to check out the rec room downstairs.”
“I hope I have a rec room in my dorm, too. This is the athletic dorm, so you guys get all the cool stuff.” Adele approached AJ and gave him a hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow for breakfast.”
“Save the hug for then,” he replied, but Elisa watched him hold on to his sister for dear life before finally letting her go.
“Whatever,” Adele teased him. “Mom?”
“Yes.” Elisa hugged her son next, not caring about his hugs-waiting-until-tomorrow rule, and added, “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Not too early, Mom,” he said.
“Nine,” she replied. “We’re having breakfast, and then I have to hit the road to get your sister to school.”
“Okay. Cool.”
???
“She’ll be there the day after me, so I’m going to go help her unpack,” Adele said as she drove them back to the hotel.
“Honey, her parents are moving her in. Make sure you give them the space to do that and say their goodbyes, okay? I know this is a big step for you and Wendy, but it’s also a big step for the parents.”
“I know. Her parents aren’t staying the night, though. They’re dropping her off and heading home, so I’m going to go there and help her unpack.”
“Okay. Just please be respectful if they do change their mind and decide to stay. I know many parents think they’re ready to drop and run, but it’s hard to say goodbye.”
“It’s not really a goodbye, Mom. We’ll be home in, like, a month for fall break.”
“It’s closer to two months,” Elisa replied when Adele pulled them into the hotel parking lot.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Um… Wendy and I were thinking.”
“About?”
“That thing you and I talked about at Dad’s.”
“Oh,” she said and turned in her seat once the car was parked. “You’re both ready?”
Adele nodded and said, “Her roommate isn’t moving inuntil school starts. She’s skipping orientation.”
“So, you’ll have the room to yourselves?”
“Yes. But I swear, that’s not why. We’re just both ready. We’ve known each other forever, but we’ve also been on, like, six dates now, and we talk all the time.”
“Trust me, I know,” Elisa teased.
Adele laughed and said, “I know I’ve already had sex, technically, but this is different than with Tucker. And not because Wendy is a girl. A woman, I mean.” She cleared her throat. “I think I’m in love with her. Maybe I have been for a while, and I didn’t know.”
Elisa nodded and replied, “Well, if you’re both ready, and you’ll have some privacy, there’s nothing I’m going to do to try to convince you otherwise.”
“I know. I just… I wanted you to know ahead of time. I didn’t talk to you before Tucker, and I should have because you always told me that I could. And you were so cool when I finally did, that I thought you might want to know before Wendy and I do that.”
“Honey, thank you for trusting me with this,” she said and cupped her daughter’s cheek. “I am so incredibly proud of you.”
“Mom, come on. Save the sappy stuff until we’re saying, ‘See ya later,’ at school.”
