Page 122 of Lovebug
“Thank you so much.” She sounds equal parts relieved and scared. “I’ll see you soon.”
What in the world is going on?
I end the call and her text with the address comes right through. I enter it into my phone’s GPS and see it’s only about five miles from here.
I turn to Wally, looking so sweet and vulnerable, lying there where I left him, all shirtless and sexy.
“It’s Chloe, one of my CITs,” I explain. “She’s kind of an odd duck, seems to like mea lot—”
“Chloe and I have that in common then.”
“Ha. I’m sorry to leave like this.” I pull on my skort and toss my shirt back on over my head.
“Go,” he encourages. “It’s fine. You coming back, though?”
I hesitate. “Do you want me to come back?”
“Always, Mabel Again.” He sits up at that and brings me in for a long, warm kiss, his hand gently tipping my chin up so my lips meet his. “I’ll be waiting.”
“Okay,” I say, feeling light-headed and happy as I grab the rest of my things and slip out of the tent. I hop into Jimeny and drive toward Chloe’s house, having absolutely zero idea of what I will find once I get there.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I pull up to a nice two-story colonial. That’s not actually true. Or it could be true. I actually have no idea. I’ve never been one of those people who know architectural house types. I marvel at those people, though, the ones that are like, “Oh, what a lovely split level ranch!” or “She has the most darling Tudor-style home.” Not a clue what they’re talking about.
I pull up to a… house. A pale yellow house with flower pots on the steps and a wind chime hanging from the porch. Two sensible station wagon type vehicles are in the driveway, and I spot a cat sleeping on one of the windowsills. It all looks so… nice.
Seems like her parents are home. Do they realize Chloe’s having a panic attack of some kind right now? Are they the cause of it? I’m starting to think that maybe my whole “here’s my phone number, call me anytime” offer to the CITs was ill-advised. I know bugs. I don’t know people. I mean, I’m doing my best with my head counselor position this summer, but I ultimately don’t know how much of a difference I’m making.
I take the few steps up to the porch and am about to ring the doorbell when the door flings open.
“Hi, Mabel! Hi, hi, hi! Thank you so much for coming!” Chloe throws her arms around my body and squeezes the bejeezus out of me. And she seems fine. Absolutely, totally and completely fine.
“Want to come in?” she chirps. “Want something to eat? Or drink? My mom’s just finishing up cooking dinner. We eat late. My grandma—my dad’s mom, not my mom’s mom—is always saying ‘why do you people eat so late? Eating that late at night leads to weight gain and nightmares!’ but I don’t think that’s true, do you? I’m reasonably thin, I think, and I never have nightmares. Or maybe I do and I just don’t remember them? That happens, right? Do you believe that we’re dreaming all night every night and we just don’t remember?”
Chloe finally stops to take a breath and just stares at me in anticipation.
“Oh,” I say. “Do you want me to actually answer that?”
“Sure!” she shrugs and smiles, like she wasn’t close to tears on the phone just a few minutes ago.
“Chloe, what’s going on? You sounded really upset on the phone. Why am I here?”
“I think I was more nervous than upset, but now that you’re here, I’m feeling so hopeful and—”
A voice comes from the other room.
“Chloe, who are you…?” My Aunt Tina is suddenly standing in the doorway. “Talking to?” she says the last part of her question under her breath when she sees me.
Have you ever seen a puppy trying to figure something out? The way they just tilt their head to the side and wait? That’s what I find myself doing at this moment.
What. The heck. Is going on?
“Mabel,” Tina says, looking as confused as I feel. “What are you doing here? I mean, I’m thrilled you’re here. Come in, come in, please. Buthoware you—?”
“I called her,” Chloe interrupts. I fully enter the house in a daze and Chloe shuts the door behind me. “Mabel? This is my mom. I thought it was time you two reconnected. For real this time.“
“Your daughter works at the arboretum,” I say on a breath, recalling Tina’s words from the other day at the festival, words that I stupidly didn’t investigate further, I guess because I was so caught up in Wally and figuring out what was happening there. I direct my attention to Chloe. “You’re my… cousin?” I’m not exactly sure why, but this makes me angry. “How long have you known?” I say this a bit more harshly than I intend.
