Can You Hear the Ocean?

Chapter 37

Leila sat at her bedroom desk, typing rapidly as she finished polishing her resume. Downstairs, she could hear the sound of her father frying something in the kitchen. Leila imagined in only a matter of minutes, her brother and Shannon would arrive to their weekly family dinner.

The prior weekend, Leila had sat awkwardly as she explained to her brother and Shannon that she had decided to stay home for a little while. They both had appeared concerned, but neither had questioned her any further.

Tonight would be her second family dinner since her argument with Mia. It had been close to two weeks since their fallout, and while Leila had felt she'd given Mia an appropriate amount of space and had worked through her own feelings related to the argument since then, she was still frightened to return. Leila had no idea how Mia react. Deep down, despite her efforts to move past Mia in the past two weeks, Leila knew it wasn't possible. Mia would hold a place in her heart for a long time to come. Leila was foolish for thinking she could get over her so easily.

It doesn't matter much anyway, Leila thought, staring at her laptop screen. If I do end up getting this job, we won't see each other anymore.

The thought hurt her, but she ignored it. She had made the decision to apply for the position in Connecticut, and she was going to follow through. The week prior, when she had shared this information with Gavin and Shannon, they'd been so celebratory of her decision. She wasn't going to back out now.

"Lei! Your brother's here!" she heard her mother call from downstairs. That was her cue to leave her work behind and join in on socializing. However, Leila still wasn't in the mood to chat, not when she knew how concerned her family still was for her.

Leila headed down the stairs, finding her mother waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase.

"You know, I'm sure you would prefer to complete all your application materials back at your desk in your apartment rather than your childhood room," she said.

Leila knew what her mother was doing. For the past week her parents had been making subtle hints that it was about time for Leila to return, and for the past week, Leila had brushed them off. Tonight was no different.

"I don't mind," Leila said.

"Lei," her mother said quietly. Her eyes turned to the door, where Gavin and Shannon were set to enter at any moment, "I'm worried about you. Don't you want to return? I'm concerned that you—"

"Don't worry. I'll go back soon," Leila grumbled.

"Lei—" her mother was cut off by Shannon and Gavin entering. Quickly, her mother's mood changed. "There you two are!" her mother exclaimed, engulfing the both of them in hugs. Leila walked past them into the kitchen, where her father was cooking dinner.

"Need any help, Dad?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, I'll have Gavin help me. You just rest up and eat some appetizers."

"Thanks," Leila said.

She had appreciated her parents giving her space over the last two weeks, though it made her feel guilty for not being honest with them. She figured they must know at this point that she was keeping something about the argument from them, but they thankfully seemed content not pressing any further. Leila wondered when she had stopped sharing everything with her parents. For the first time, she felt like an actual adult.

"Gavin, you're on sauté duty," Leila's dad announced as Gavin stepped into the kitchen.

"Aw, man," Gavin complained.

Shannon laughed at him and walked over to the living room where Leila stood, munching on some appetizers. Shannon smiled and quickly gave Leila a warm hug. Leila realized she must've been looking more grim than she thought.