Chapter 32 Saylor
Saylor
Dr. Campbell was right. We are going have to commit some serious time to finish the square.
But it’s not like I mind. I’m free from my sisters and my mom’s almost certain plans to make family content all day.
Plus, I get to spend time with Heaven. At some point I want to ask her to be my girlfriend.
I’m ready to move on from this taking it slow stage, even if we do keep it quiet from our parents.
I just need to get up the courage to do it.
This isn’t a summer fling, at least not for me.
But girlfriend is heavy for us. A girlfriend eventually has to tell all our friends and family.
A girlfriend is there when school starts again.
A girlfriend goes to my volleyball games and maybe even cheers.
And a girlfriend goes to every art show and offers to model or organize pencils or whatever else a girlfriend needs.
It’s more than just bingo and stealing kisses when we can.
It’s everything, and I want that with her.
But every time I think about talking to Heaven about how I feel and what I want, I can just picture Mom with her new beach bob popping out from behind a tree with her phone or camera, ready to tell her viewing audience.
But for tonight, I’m free from all that drama and basking in the calm, social-content-free environment that Dr. G and Dr. Campbell have created in their house.
After we finish the first movie, we go up to Heaven’s room to do our night routines and change, then we both squeeze under a blanket in her sac chair and try to focus on watching Friday the 13th Part 2.
When she’s positive that her parents are asleep, we both climb into her bed and let the movie keep playing.
I get the general point. No need to pay attention.
I look at her beautiful face, lit by her TV on behind me.
“How did your parents come up with the name Heaven?” I ask her. It’s something I’ve always wondered. “Glory’s mom always said she wanted to give her something powerful. Glory does the trick, I think.”
“I’m my mom’s rainbow baby. She had like three miscarriages before she got pregnant with me.
She said in the delivery room she was so high and just like out of it from labor, but so happy I came out healthy and you know, alive—she took one look at me and said I was her little piece of heaven, and that’s what she wanted to call me.
They had a Korean name picked out for me, Jee-Ah, so that’s my middle name now. ”
“I like both names.” I smile back at her.
“What about Saylor? That’s unique. I don’t think I’ve met a sailor that didn’t work on a ship.”
“Ahahah. Funny. No, she found my name on a Mormon mommy blog, and I wish I was joking. This woman had made a list of all these names and words with alternate spellings, and she saw Saylor and it just stuck. She was committed to all her kids having the same initial for some reason, so we all got S names.”
“You would think she would have done all C names or really taken it to the extreme and called you three like Cristen, Crista, and Cristi.”
“I’m sure she thought about it, but don’t mention it to her. She might try and change our names now just for the plot.”
“I promise I won’t.” Heaven chuckles.
“I really like you,” I tell her quietly, and then my heart tries to leap out of my chest when she smiles.
“I like you too.”
“Are you gonna forget about me when you’re a famous tattoo artist?” I ask her.
“Are you going to forget about me when you become the president of Fosters Healing Ointment?”
“Shut up!” I laugh, and then pinch my mouth shut. We don’t need her parents to know we’re still awake. “I’m probably gonna trot right over to USC with Jake and become a brilliant finance major. Then I’ll use my super-extensive knowledge of finance to help you open your own shop.”
“I’d appreciate that. Thank you.”
“You’re gonna be amazing.”
“I don’t know about that,” she says.
“What do you mean? Heaven, you’re such a good artist.”
“I know, but I don’t. I’m still nervous about all the other stuff.”
“Hey, isn’t that why I bribed you? So I could help you figure it out…and hide from my mom, but more importantly so I could help you figure it out.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She laughs.
“Well, I’m still here, and USC isn’t far. I got you, Princess Cutie. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Thanks, Say-Say.”
I lean up and close the small space between us, and I kiss her.
And then it feels like we’re picking up where we left off before her parents came home, and this time things go a little further.
They go a lot further, actually. So far that I’m glad I didn’t do it with Rhy or Tagger, that I didn’t have a chance to think about it with Jake.
I’m glad I saved this moment for Heaven.
Sometime in the early morning, I slip out to use the bathroom and do the thing I don’t want to do—ease onto the air mattress that’s been abandoned on the floor. I want to climb back in with Heaven, but I don’t think her parents need to find us asleep together in her bed.
· · ·
The next day, it’s pretty clear I’m going to have to sleep over again or at least stay real late, if we want to stick to the marathon aspect of the square.
“I’ll limit it to a five-movie marathon next year,” Dr. Campbell says as he makes us waffles. “My bad.”
“Hopefully, I’ll be working at Ink & Pearl next summer so there might not be a bingo,” Heaven says.
The thought of that really bums me out, I realize instantly.
I know we didn’t plan to do this together, but it’s been so much fun low-key avoiding getting an actual bingo.
It makes me sad that this might be the one and only time we take on this silly bingo challenge together.
Dr. Campbell whips around pretending to cry. “What do you mean there won’t be another summer bingo?” he screeches.
“You gotta get over it, Dad.” Heaven laughs.
“Fine, whatever. I’m sure the dogs will want to do it.”
“You can do elaborate treat challenges for them in the backyard and around the neighborhood,” I suggest.
“Now, that’s smart thinking,” he says, waving his tongs at me.
We dive into part three over breakfast, determined to make a day of it.
We do not finish every movie.
· · ·
When Dr. Campbell drops me off at home on their way to the skate park that next morning, we’ve only made it to Part 7: Jason Takes Manhattan.
“Due to your valiant effort, I’m going to award you two the square, even though you didn’t watch all the movies.”
“Thanks, Dr. Campbell.”
“I’m not gonna do the presentation on this square until we finish the last movie,” Heaven adds from the front seat.
“Deal. Well, I guess I’ll see you later?” I ask her. I wanna kiss her so bad, or at least hug her. With her dad in the car with us, that’ll have to wait.
“Yeah, I’ll text you when we get back from the park.”
“ ’Kay.” I thank Dr. Campbell one more time for letting me stay over before I hop out of the car and start the very pathetic countdown until I get to see Heaven again.
“Is that my daughter? Has she returned to us?” Mom calls out as I step inside, kick off my shoes, and walk to the kitchen. The house is mostly back to normal, but there’s still a balloon arch up between the kitchen and the living room.
“ ’Tis I. I’ve returned.” Mom pulls me close and kisses me on my unblemished cheek just as the twins come barreling into the kitchen.
“Were you at Heaven’s this whole time?” Scarlett asks.
“Yeah.”
“I like her,” she says, smiling.
“I do too,” I reply. A second later, Stella, the twin we clearly should have sold at a low, low price in the hospital parking lot, grabs the hand attached to my still very broken arm. I cry out more in shock than in pain.
“Jesus!”
“Geez. I was just looking.”
“With your eyes, you little mutant. The cast isn’t a prop.” Luckily, there’s just a dull ache and no mind-numbing pain.
“I was just gonna say, she should have done the ghost ones for us. I saw them on her Instagram. Those were cool. The kittens were a little babyish.”
“On whose account?” I ask.
“I was on Mom’s phone. Relax.” We might be plugged in over here, but Mom is still keeping Stella and Scarlett off their own accounts until they turn thirteen. I’d make them wait until they turn twenty-five, but I’m not the parent here.
“I like my sunbathing kitten,” Scarlett says. I look at her forearm and try not to smile too wide. My cutie did a good job.
“It looks great. Are we going anywhere today? I need to bathe,” I tell Mom.
“Okay, head on up and I’ll be right behind you with the cast protector bag of the day. We’re gonna go to Shake Shack as soon as Daddy gets back. Oh!”
“What?”
“I put up the video from the party. Did you see?”
“No, there was serious bingo business happening.”
“It’s pretty good, if I say so myself.”
“Great, Mom.” I chuckle. “Can’t wait to watch it.”
I head up to my room and dump my clothes in the laundry, trying not to be weird about the fact that my pajamas smell like Heaven’s room.
I get changed and wait in my towel for Mom to come help me.
I dig up my phone and figure I should watch the video because I know she’ll bug me about it until I do.
Plus, I want to see how much Heaven is in it.
I go to Mom’s BeeBop and, ignoring that one of the new pinned videos is about my hair, scroll to the first new video.
I click on it and have to give Mom credit—she’s a master when it comes to editing.
She shows off the decorations and the stars of the night, my sisters.
There are clips of me and Dad helping out, the DJ, and of course Heaven.
She looks so adorable focusing over Stella’s arm.
It’s a solid three minutes capturing the whole night, set to a cute song. There are forty thousand likes and three thousand comments. I know I shouldn’t look, but I do.
A lot of the comments are nice, praising my mom for going all out just for the fun of it.
My mom’s responded to a few people already.
Some people think Mom is doing too much.
And then, of course, others are mad about the bobs.
There’s some racism in there. There always is.
And comments about how living through us won’t make Mom feel better.
I scroll down and see the first negative comment about the tattoos.
“Kids this young do not need to mark their bodies.”
That got forty responses.
“You can just buy temporary tattoos online. You must love spending money.”
I close BeeBop and go over to Instagram.
She’s uploaded it there, and it’s more of the same.
Thousands of likes, less comments but more of the same.
But this time, she’s tagged Heaven. I can only imagine what her notifications look like.
I go to her page and her follower count has doubled.
I don’t know what to think. I told her I’d help her with this.
I like Heaven so much and I don’t want her sucked up in my mom’s content machine and seeing horrible comments.
I have to figure out what to do about it.