Page 376 of The First Time
"Yeah. I'm sorry, Kat. I should have told you sooner. But I already enrolled. Yesterday actually." She bites her lip. "I have a full scholarship."
"That's great, sweetheart," Meryl says. "Lovely campus. And California, well, it's not my taste, but the weather is lovely."
"Stanford grads do great in Silicon Valley." Blake takes a long sip of his drink. His eyes pass over Meryl.
There's something in his expression. He's worried.
God, if Blake's worried, it must be bad. Or it could be I've somehow cracked the code to his expression.
I look closer. No, that can't be it. The man is still a mystery. A beautiful mystery who makes me come so hard I scream. But a mystery nonetheless.
"I'll miss you," I say.
"Blake, honey, I hope you'll keep your wife too busy to miss her sister." Meryl lets out a light laugh and turns to me. "And aren't you looking at schools?"
"I won't start until the spring semester." I tug at the fabric of my dress. Same thing Lizzy was doing. "Most of them are in the northeast." None are anywhere near Stanford.
Meryl smiles at Lizzy. "At least you'll get the apartment to yourself for a few months."
"Oh, yeah. I guess you're not going to live here after you and Blake get married," Lizzy says.
"After the honeymoon." He looks at me with love in his eyes. The pretend kind. "We can pick out furniture tomorrow if you'd like."
Meryl shakes her head. "Please, my son has never picked out a piece of furniture. He has a decorator."
"Oh yeah?" I ask.
"You better take the reins, honey. His apartment and his office are so terribly utilitarian. Who can live like that? It's like a science fiction film," Meryl asks.
Lizzy's ears perk. "Which one?" She looks to Blake. "Don't tell me you have an intentional aesthetic."
"She hates art unless it's art direction in a sci-fi movie." I shake my head.
Meryl laughs. "She's a plebeian. Like me. You'll have to leave the art and literature to intellectuals like you and Blake. The rest of us need explosions and drama."
"True." Lizzy looks to Blake. "Where are you going? On your honeymoon?"
"Paris," Blake says.
Right. Paris. I knew that. I nod like it was my decision. It won't be so bad, fucking Blake in the City of Light. All that romance surrounding us…
"Paris. How lovely." Something in Meryl's expression changes. More serious. "I'm glad you two…"
"Mom?"
"You seem happy. I never thought…" She stares at her wineglass. "I never thought Blake would find something real."
Real. Right. I smile my biggest smile.
Lizzy frowns, but she doesn't say anything.
I think she gets it. How can she not? Meryl lights up the room. It's impossible to do anything but want her happy.
The server arrives with our drinks.
It's a perfect distraction.
Lizzy buries her face in her soda.
