Celadon Bay - Book One

Parents

(John)

The next week, on a very unlikely warm Thursday, we have the last three periods free. This means we are free to go home at eleven, which is something that doesn't happen all that often.

Veronica decides to come with us for a change, so the three of us walk home together. Lunch with my very dear (and now very real!) girlfriend sounds like an awesome idea. I'm so busy thinking about this that I'm out of the loop with our conversation, so when Veronica pokes my face to bring me back to earth, it's pretty obvious she and Martin have been talking to me.

"I never knew you'd be such a crybaby," Veronica says, mocking me.

"Boo-hoo, she dumped me," Martin teases.

I turn red instantly; that was one very embarrassing moment and I didn't really want Veronica to know about it.

"Come on, dude," I say, frowning at me cousin. "You didn't tell her that story, did you?"

"He did," Veronica confirms, "and it's so sweet of you." She stands up on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek.

"So then, why did you dump him?" Martin asks matter-of-factly.

Now it's Veronica's turn to turn pink with embarrassment, and she takes a while to come up with her answer.

Finally, she speaks in hushed tones. "I thought that it was best for him to date someone else." Her voice grows smaller, and it's hard to hear what she's saying. "I thought he should be with someone prettier, or more interesting."

"There's no such thing as someone prettier," I say, almost offended.

"Gee, you're such a sweetheart," Martin mocks.

"Shut up, you," Veronica chides, bumping his shoulder. Her dreamy eyes turn toward me, and bliss courses through me. "John is adorable."

"You're more adorable," I say, and I lean closer for a kiss. It still feels all new and weird, even a week after our first kiss, but damn, I really like the way her warm lips feel on mine. I'm quickly turning bolder about it, too, so I cup her face in my hands and kiss her deeper despite Martin's obvious grunts of complaint. I like how it's awkward at first but then it slowly becomes supreme and beautiful, as if we're holding hands and have suddenly taken off flying.

If this isn't heaven, I don't know what is.

But as people often say: the higher you get, the harder you fall. This proves true when we finally get home. By some weird miracle of life, Mom's in the kitchen, which means I don't have time to conceal or plan anything. She's looking at us before we're even fully through the door, and notices right away that my arm is draped over Veronica's shoulder.

"Good morning, kids," she says, but I can tell she's not at all amused. All I can do now, is play along.

"Hello there, Sweet Aunt!" Martin, who as usual, doesn't get the complexity of the situation, greets my mother in his usual way. I'm really jealous of how carefree he can be. "To what do we owe the honor?"

My mother, of course, flashes my cousin a grin. "Your mother had to run some errands in town so I offered to make something for you all to have lunch."

She fixes us with an easy smile, although her eyes are firmly fixed on Veronica, who suddenly detaches from me and walks straight to the kitchen. The whole situation reminds me of those dreams I sometimes have where I need to run but my feet won't budge. I'm glued to the ground.

"Hi, I'm Veronica."

"Let me guess," Mom says. "You're the girlfriend?"

Veronica looks at me a little sheepishly from over her shoulder. Then she looks back at my mom and nods. "Yes," she says. "That would be me."