Across the Pond

Chapter 28

I'm so late to Grandma Ruby's dinner party. I'm currently upstairs getting ready, but I hear people talking in the backyard from my window. I slip on a light-weight blue cotton dress and keep my hair down because I know how much it'll mean to mom. She can't tell me enough how much she despises my jean shorts and "dirty" Converses.

I run down the stairs and make my way outside, where I find a crowd of people chatting and holding mini plates with appetizers.

I've met a few of Grandma Ruby's neighbors before, but there's a good chunk who look unfamiliar. I spy Adam from the corner of my eye talking to mom, and I immediately feel happy. She looks more at ease than she did the other night, which gives me the notion that she really gave our conversation the attention that it deserved. When she sees me walk in, she smiles and waves, and then goes back to talking to Adam.

For the next two hours, Grandma Ruby introduces me to her friends, and by the time the night's over, I'm exhausted from just talking. I help clear the table and proceed for the kitchen, where I find Adam doing the dishes.

"Adam, if my grandma walks in and sees you doing the dishes, she's not going to be a happy lady," I tell him, placing the dirty plates in my hold onto the countertop.

"It's the least I could do. Your grandma's a great host, by the way."

"That she is!"

Speaking of grandma, she walks in laughing with mom, who stops but smiles when she sees Adam at the sink.

"What's going on in here? Our guests don't clean up," Grandma Ruby remarks, and I raise my eyebrows at Adam.

"See?!" I say, but all he does is chuckle.

"Where can I put this?" he holds up the now dried plate and asks.

"Here, I'll take that," Grandma Ruby walks towards him and says before placing it in the cabinet.

"Ruby, thank you again for tonight. I had a wonderful time."

"It was my pleasure. I'm glad you had fun."

He looks at mom, waiting for her to say something. But she doesn't.

"Well, I should probably get going. I have an early day tomorrow."

"You sure you can't stay for a cup of tea?" Grandma Ruby asks.

"I would love nothing more, but if I don't get at least 6 hours of sleep tonight...well, let's just say that I won't be a very fun person to be around tomorrow."

"I hear you."

"I'll see you out," mom finally chimes in.

Grandma Ruby and I smile at each other as they leave the room, and I crisscross my fingers.

When mom walks back in a few minutes later, she tells us that Adam asked her out for dinner this coming weekend. She said yes, and I can tell by the glow on her face that she's excited.

"That's wonderful!" Grandma Ruby exclaims, clapping her hands together.

"What are you going to wear?" I ask eagerly.

"That's a great question. Should we make it a shopping day on Friday?"

"It's like you read my mind," I tell her.

***

I'm so happy that we decided to spend the day at the mall today. Between work and thinking about Nico, I almost forgot that Remi's birthday party is this weekend. She rented out the private room of this Italian restaurant, which also happens to have a bar upstairs. She's turning 17 and has been saving up for this particular birthday for a while. She told me that I should bring Danny, and while I rejected the idea at first, I ended up thinking about it more and came to the conclusion that I actually should.

Danny and I have been spending a lot of time together, at and outside of work. We ended up going for dinner one night, and he was the epitome of a gentleman. He picked me up, held the door open for me, let me order first. Things that we shouldn't take for granted, but do because - let's be real - it's so hard to find a nice guy these days. At the end of the night, he asked to kiss me, but I said no. I'm attracted to Danny, but it felt too rushed. Like too much too soon. And while I felt bad for turning him down, he was completely understanding, which just made me like him more.

Mom ended up finding a simple yet beautiful black sleeveless dress. I was shocked to see her choose a fitted style because she likes to hide her body in clothes that are one size too big for her frame. The woman looks fabulous and she should always feel confident in her skin.

It took me a while to find something new. I'm just so picky. But I ended up with a white jean miniskirt and a one-shoulder tank that ties at the shoulder. Grandma Ruby spotted these cute wedges that she ended up purchasing for me, despite the countless times that I begged her not to. I FaceTimed Remi when I had the outfit on to make sure that she approved, and when she said "holy shit, you look unreal," I took that as a yes.

I didn't want to overwhelm Remi because I know she's super busy getting everything together for her party, but I had to ask her who she invited. She recapped her entire list of 20 people, and the second that she uttered Nico's name, I went silent.

"I can disinvite him if you want me to," she says, even though she knows that that's not what I want. Remi and Nico aren't super close, and she could have gotten away without inviting him, but I think she did it for me.

"No, that's okay," I tell her.

"The way I look at it, you have the upper-hand."

"Yeah? How so?"

"You're showing up with man candy on your arm."

"And he's showing up with Cara."

"Yeah, but you're hotter."

"You have to say that. You're my best friend."

"Excuse me, but I only speak the truth!"

I chuckle at her attempt to make me feel better. "Love you, Rem," I tell her.

We hang up and I look at myself in the mirror. This outfit is so not me that I almost don't recognize myself. But I do feel pretty. Part of me wants Nico to see me and be stunned. I want him to know what he's missing out on. But the other part of me wants to do this for myself. I deserve to feel good. I deserve to be happy. And I deserve to move on.

Tomorrow night, that all happens.