The Summer I Turned Pretty - The Years Later✔️

chapter 8

When everyone left, I asked Conrad what Jeremiah had said. Conrad said,"I saw you guys going in the kitchen together and then suddenly Jeremiah came and asked me to come upstairs when I was talking to Dad. When we went upstairs he got straight to the point. He just asked me if things were okay between us and if we could make it up. I realized at that moment that you had sent him. I thought that if that was what you wanted so badly then I could just do that for you."

I smiled at him and said," Thank you Con, you know it means a lot to me. And then I saw the look in his eyes, they shone in a way they always did when Conrad was very happy from deep inside his heart. Just like Susannah. He wanted to talk to Jere just as much as I wanted him to.

It was my mom's birthday tomorrow. As today was Saturday Conrad had a holiday. We decided to visit her in Boston tomorrow, that's where she moved after I and Conrad got married and Steven started working with Mr.Fisher and Jeremiah. It was the closest she could be with Steven and me.

Conrad and I decided to call Jeremiah and Steven there too and give her a surprise dinner party.

On the drive to Boston the next day, I and Conrad stopped for some Starbucks. Kool-Aid was still on top of my list though. Conrad wanted to pick up my mom's favorite wine, so we had to change our route to Boston which felt like four times longer than the actual route. I loved driving with Conrad but not when he was instructing his intern on the car's Bluetooth!

Conrad had recently been offered to cover up an internship program at his hospital which meant longer hours of work for Con which indirectly means lesser hours for me and Con.

His intern was at the hospital and had a "query" for Conrad on a "Saturday". When Conrad was done he asked me if I was bored and I denied it . A lie . Conrad started laughing and said,"Comeon Belly, everyone knows you love long car rides with me." And I said ,"Not true at all." We stopped at the traffic signal and Conrad said," I also know that you hate it when I work a lot" and gave me a side I-know-everything-so-don't-deny-it smile. I giggled and said," Nope. You're wrong. I hate you working only when you don't have time for me" and finished it off with a wink. Conrad leaned in at my seat and kissed me. He said,"Oh well then I'll have to make sure to add Belly time in my timetable" and then laughed and kissed me again. When the light got green, he went back to his seat and started the car. Conrad. He always made me feel like a baby. Being with him, I felt that I'd never grow up, I'd always be his sweet young Belly and he'd always been the very matured guy.
Loving him was the most precious gift of my life.

When we reached at my mom's house, Conrad glued the little envelope which said Happy birthday to the ground,pressed the bell and we ran behind the walls of the house.

When my mom came out she looked confused and picked up the envelope. The moment she looked at it, I and Con jumped on the porch and screamed Happy birthday and hugged her. We could see how happy she was. I know she felt very lonely as Steven and I were away and my dad didn't visit Boston that frequently. But she was a strong woman, she would never let anyone see how she felt.

When we went inside I was surprised to see my dad sitting on the couch. Suddenly my mom said," He came two hours ago Belly. What a surprise that you are here too."

My dad got up and gave me a tight hug and then went over to Conrad and gave him a man hug. I told my mom that I had to get fresh so I went upstairs. I entered the bathroom and turned around to close the door when I found out that Conrad was standing behind me.

He was following me, I thought. Then Conrad gave me a little kiss on the cheek and said," Mm hon? What's your dad doing here? I thought your mom told you that she was alone for her birthday."

I said,"She did. I don't know what's he doing here. Maybe he just came as it's her birthday."

Conrad said,"Yeah. He must've know she's alone on her birthday so he must've come to give her company."

"Yeah, possible"

When we went downstairs, Steven and Jeremiah were already there. They hugged us and we were off for lunch. We ordered Mexican food as it was my mom's favorite.

Suddenly my mom got up while I was eating my lasagna and said,"I and Belly's dad have something to say. We actually started seeing each other recently and mm we have been thinking of getting back together." Silence.

Then Con got up and said,"Laur, I'm so happy for you. It's a great idea. You guys were always a great couple."

I realized it was my chance to say something so I walked over to my mom and gave her a big hug and said,"Yeah mom. It's a really good decision. You guys never stopped loving each other. You really should get back together."

Then my mom said,"Thank you guys,it was a blessing in disguise that you all happened to come here together. I was really hoping for everyone to meet up as I wanted to tell you all as soon as possible."

Then I said,"But mom you could've told us at Thanksgiving."

She said,"Belly, I wanted Thanksgiving to be special just for it to be Thanksgiving." Then I hugged my dad and said,"I love you Daddy."

We drove back to New York the same day because Conrad had to get back to his hospital. While driving home I asked Conrad if he found it weird that my mom never mentioned anything about my dad visiting her more frequently but Conrad just said that she must've forgotten to.

Then out of the blue Conrad asked me if I was happy that my parents were back together. I told him that I was. I always loved my parents being together. After my parents got divorced it never really felt like that because my dad was always around and my parents were always like an old married couple.

When we reached, it was dinner time. We weren't really hungry so we left to get some ice cream.

While sleeping we snuggled under the  blanket and Conrad said,"Bells? Can I ask you something?" I said,"Yeah."

"Aren't you happy that your parents are getting better?"

"Con, I really really am happy."

"Then what is bothering you so much?"

"It's just that, I think the Thanksgiving excuse was kinda lame."

"Bells comeon. Your dad wasn't even there on Thanksgiving. Maybe that's why she didn't tell us then. You should trust your mom."

"Yeah, you're right."

Then I kissed him on the cheek and said," I love you Con. I don't know what I'll do without you."

Then he said,"Well Belly, you don't have to think about that because you'll never be without me. I promise" and then he kissed me on the lips with so much of passion and want, like he really needed me, to be there, with him,to be his wife, more than anything he ever wanted.

I've heard that when you love someone truly, let them go. Bullshit. Because I will never let Conrad go.
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